What is considered laboratory animals?

[krist]

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Just wanted to see if anyone here knows if fish are considered laboratory animals?? I spent a whole semester doing a research project using lots of fish (not under supervision of DVM, but still animal experience) and am debating on whether I should include that under animal experience? Thanks!!

 

[No Imagination]

If it was under a PhD, it SHOULD count as "veterinary experience" - but might want to double check that.

And yes, as far as I know, fish do count as lab animals if they are used in a research setting (But may not fall under IACUC, I am not sure about that)

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Yep

Anything used in a lab, be it rodent, rabbit, fish, frog, pigs, monkeys, horses, dogs etc is lab animal.

Fish IACUC info: http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/pubs/Fishwelfare/iacuc.htm

Only invertebrate studies are not officially covered by IACUC to my knowledge.

If it was not under a DVM, I do not think it can be called veterinary experience. Animal experience or research experience, yes.

 

[Jamr0ckin]

I put my fish research under animal experience, then marked "research" and "aquatic" on the VMCAS check-off thingy.

Since they are vertebrates, they are regulated just like mice with IACUC, from what I understand.

 

[laitmanvet]

Yup, all vertebrates are IACUC regulated.
And according to VMCAS it can be considered veterinary experience as long as it was supervised by any health professional, so not necessarily VMD.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

I guess its the definition of "health professional"...An MD, DO, DVM or the like I would consider a health professional, not a PhD in, say, molecular biology. Not that I respect them less, it's just not what I think they mean when they say health professional. But, to each his own. I'd still put it under research.

 

[that redhead]

If it's used in a lab, its a lab animal. However, since I worked with a huge range of species, including more "non-traditional" species, I fit the more unique ones into my descriptions/PS. Fish ARE lab animals, but you would check "lab animals" and "aquatic" or something similar for the description.